


World Enough and Time

by maddienole



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Angst, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 08:02:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25519978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maddienole/pseuds/maddienole
Summary: Daisy is hurting, and Sousa is where he always is, right by her side. A Dousy one-shot that takes place shortly after s07e09, "As I Have Always Been."
Relationships: Skye | Daisy Johnson/Daniel Sousa
Comments: 6
Kudos: 205





	World Enough and Time

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote another one of these. Please send help.

He found Daisy in the cargo bay, hair unbrushed, knees to her chest, eyes staring out into something only she could see.  
  
He had seen that look before, the one of defeat. Of loss.  
  
The one of acknowledgement but never acceptance.  
  
Sousa had never been particularly close with Enoch, the...what was he again? Some robotic man that he was still struggling to understand. Regardless, he knew that _she_ was. They had won today, but had lost so terribly. Daisy, perhaps, more than others.  
  
And her pain was hurting him.  
  
He approached her gently, trying to figure out what he could possibly say, but nothing that ran through his head seemed good enough.  
  
Another war story?  
  
It seems superfluous in a way, given that they were technically at war now.  
  
With _who_ , Sousa still couldn’t figure out.  
  
He eventually settled on saying nothing. For some, silence was the best medicine. Daisy would talk to him when she felt ready to talk, not through unnecessary prodding.  
  
She didn’t acknowledge him when he sat down next to her, and Sousa wasn’t entirely sure she was even aware that he was there. She continued to stare blankly at the wall in front of him, consumed by her own thoughts.  
  
He wasn’t sure how long it took before any sound was uttered.  
  
“Why are you here?”  
  
Her voice sounded....broken. As if she hadn’t used it in a while. Or perhaps she had used it too much.  
  
“I didn’t want you to be alone,” he responded without missing a beat.  
  
She curled her hand into a fist. Then uncurled it. Then curled it again.  
  
“I _want_ to be alone.”  
  
“I don’t believe you.”  
  
She sniffled, turning to face him.  
  
“How could you possibly know what I want right now?”  
  
“Because I’ve _been_ there, Daisy. I know you’ve lost people, and I know you’re hurting right now. And....that’s okay. It just means that you’re human.”  
  
She raised an eyebrow.  
  
“I’m not exactly....”  
  
“ _Oh_ , you get the point.”  
  
A moment of silence.

“I miss him,” she finally said, eyes watering. “He’s only been gone a couple of hours but….I miss him so much.”

“I know. I promise you, I understand how you feel.”

He grasped her hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze. Even the smallest touch was electric.

It took another couple of seconds before she spoke again.  
  
“Do you think about him often?” she asked, rubbing her eyes.  
  
“Who?”  
  
“Mike Stevens.”  
  
His eyes widened.  
  
“You remember that story?”  
  
“I...could never forget. Mind you, I wasn’t all there at the time, but I got the gist of it.”

He gave her a soft smile.  
  
“Extreme blood loss will do that to a person. And I _do_ think about him, not all the time, but enough that it still makes me sad once in a while.”  
  
He paused.  
  
“You’re the first, you know. The first person I’ve told that story to. Not even to Peggy.”  
  
“Carter?”  
  
He nodded.  
  
“You loved her, didn’t you?”  
  
He wanted to tell her no. To tell her that his feelings for her couldn’t have been real. Perhaps it would have been easier for him if they weren’t. But he still felt the ache in his chest every time he saw her face in the news.  
  
“Yes,” he said simply. “I did.”  
  
“Did?”  
  
Of _course_ she caught that.  
  
“I’ve...” he trailed off, trying to figure out the right words to say.  
  
“I’ve accepted that she didn’t feel the same way for me. And it hurt. _I_ hurt. But...some things just weren’t meant to be. I think a part of me will always love her, I can’t lie about that. But I’ve moved on with my life, as she’s moved on with hers.”  
  
Silence again permeated the room. Sousa shot a glance at Daisy, who seemed lost in thought. Even with her hair unkempt and her eyes swollen from crying, she still looked gorgeous. But the fears kept nagging him at the back of his mind.  
  
His feelings for her....  
  
He simply couldn’t stand another heartbreak.  
  
“Can you do something for me?” she finally asked, breaking him from his reverie.  
  
“What can I do?”  
  
“I want you to remember.”  
  
He frowned.  
  
“I don’t understand.”  
  
She chuckled softly, wiping away a stray tear running down her cheek.  
  
“You wouldn’t. I’m asking something of you that you are incapable of doing.”  
  
“Of....remembering?  
  
She gave him a small nod, but said nothing further.  
  
“Is this about the time loop?”  
  
She still said nothing. Her fist curled, then uncurled.  
  
A sniffle.  
  
Another tear.  
  
And then finally, words.  
  
“I asked you why you were always helping me,” she started. “In one of the loops. Why you were always so nice to me. Sometimes....it feels as though I don’t deserve it.”  
  
“Of course you-“  
  
“I’m almost done, I promise,” she interrupted gently. “Just let me finish.”  
  
He gave her a silent nod.  
  
“You said you would be there for me when things went south. That you....you were.. _.are_ that someone.”  
  
She paused.  
  
“ _My_ someone.”  
  
Did he really say that?  
  
“That sounds like something I would say,” he responded slowly. “And it is completely true.”  
  
He could see a shift in her demeanor, one he wasn’t quite able to grasp.  
  
“I care for you Daisy,” he said, not breaking his gaze. “I didn’t want to....I didn’t _intend_ to, but I do. I won’t lie to you about that. And I want to do what I can to lessen your burdens, even if that means not talking at all. Or even...”  
  
“I kissed you,” she interrupted. “Different loop, but....”  
  
She briefly stopped, trying to regain her composure.  
  
“I’m not good at love, it’s why I haven’t tried it in a while. I’ve been burned too many times. But with you? I can’t explain how I feel when I’m around you.”  
  
Sousa could feel his heart beating out of his chest.  
  
She kissed him? And he couldn’t even remember it?  
  
“I guess we’re both pretty terribly at this whole _love_ thing, huh?” he said weakly.  
  
She looked back at him, if only for a second, and Sousa was afraid he had said the wrong thing.  
  
But...she didn’t look mad. She looked.... _well_ , he wasn’t quite sure.  
  
“When I kissed you I felt safe. Secure. For just a second everything was right in the world. When it was just us. I....I would give anything to have that feeling again. To explore whatever there is between us.”  


He had been aching to hear those words come out of her mouth. Just the thought that she might be harboring the same feelings for him that he did for her. She ran her fingers through his hair, and she was so close that Sousa could almost hear another heartbeat as fast as his own.  
  
God, she was the most beautiful creature he had ever laid eyes on. How did he get this lucky?  
  
Her eyes eventually met his, and in that moment, no words needed to be said at all. Just a look of mutual understanding. Of trust. Of the promise that was held between them. She leaned in and gently pressed her lips to his, and it was…..utterly intoxicating.  
  
It was stupid to get hopeful, he knew. In the outside world, there was a war being waged. A ship needed to be run and battles needed to be fought. Millions of lives were at stake and it was entirely possible that neither of them would live past the next day.  
  
But for now, in a little darkened room in the back end of a ship, they had all the time in the world.


End file.
